What I Read in March (Puppy Edition)

Sometimes you've got to draw your own asterisk. The goal this year was to read two books a month -- not too much of a stretch, but enough to require some thought, time and selectivity. This month I brought home John Brockman's "This Explains Everything" and Meghan Daum's "Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion". I also, however, brought home Otto, a 12-week-old Terrier-Chihuahua puppy. So while I technically "read" both Brockman and Daum's books, I can't tell you in any honesty that I finished them.

Daum's book was the stronger of the two. An honest, if self-obsessed, recount of her mother's death, her marriage, her decision on whether to have children and other character-defining moments of her 30s. The most interesting thing about Daum's writing is how it never implores you to like her. She seems to value revelation more than self-regard or perhaps earns that self-regard through revelation. In any event, it's an interesting read, and had I not had a pup nagging at my feet I might have gotten to the bitter end with it.

Brockman's book was a collection of short essays on the most beautiful scientific and sociological explanations for the way things are. Some essays ran just a few paragraphs others took pages, but they read like personal emails from a diversity of thinkers on everything from deja vu to gravity. There were some great pages in this book (I loved the essay on deja vu), but all in all the structure made it too strewn and shallow to make the book all that influential.

Now, let's talk about what I did learn in March...

Getting a puppy has been one of the more time-consuming but rewarding decisions of my life. Granted, it's hardly two weeks in, but something about fuzzy paws will make a person hyperbolic. Here's how I spent most of the month.

Major Training Achievement for March:

Major Training Aspiration for April:

Other Notable Observations

So, I'll take the asterisk this month. Measured by books completed, March was a little light. Measured in unbridled moments of puppy-joy? By that yard-stick March comes out on top. I do plan on returning next month with a collection of good reads. Would love a suggestion or two to kick things off. What have you read in any genre that's kept you thinking lately? Will happily reward any book recommendations with additional photos of Otto.